Experiencing Interruptions?

The Gong Fu Connection

A young Chinese man, Ricky, lives the city life in London. His material drive and affections for a pretty girl backfire and he is in trouble, forcing him to rethink his situation. He retreats to Forest Row in Sussex. A progressive village with a retro modern cultural feel. There he meets Matthew, an English Kung Fu master who has been in China and has become a valuable member of the community, training the locals Kung Fu. Seeing Chinese philosophy reinvigorated in this way touches Ricky deeply, and it seems his mistakes will be the catalyst for the change he desperately needs.

  • Ted Duran
    Director
  • Luke Thompson
    Writer
  • Ted Duran
    Writer
  • Wang Yiu Wong
    Writer
  • Xinyi Shen
    Producer
  • Ted Duran
    Producer
  • Wang Yiu Wong
    Key Cast
    "Ricky"
    One Child
  • Ted Duran
    Key Cast
    "Matthew"
    Grisse, The Legend of Bruce Lee, Beginning of the Great Revival
  • Jimmy Rey
    Key Cast
    "Gary"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    我的武林朋友
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    30 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    September 18, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    19,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    Chinese, English
  • Shooting Format:
    Black Magic
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Distribution Information
  • Xinyi Shen
Director Biography - Ted Duran

Ted grew up acting, at 2 years old he appeared for the first time in hit BBC drama "Inspector Poirot". His parents were both active in film, TV and theatre. His formal training in drama began at 6 years old at the Brighton Steiner School, then following that at Michael Hall, then graduating with an MA in Acting for Screen at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

At age 20 Ted decided to go to China to learn Shaolin kung fu at a Temple. He lived there and worked as an actor and fight performer for over 10 years, appearing in over 20 Films, TV dramas and advertisements. One role of particular note is China Film Group's 2012 feature film "Beginning of the Great Revival", a historical drama set in 1921 about the first meeting with Russian Communist party members in China, with Chairman Mao (Played by Liu Ye) as one of the attendees. Ted plays a Russian communist party delegate also at the meeting, tasked with meeting with Chinese officials which would prove to fuel the cultural revolution. He had to act in Mandarin Chinese and Russian for the role. The film also stars Chow Yun Fat, John Woo and Liu Ye.

In China Ted is most known for his main role in 50 episode TV series "The Legend of Bruce Lee". He plays "Blair", an enemy and later friend of martial arts icon Bruce Lee. Ted appears in 27 Episodes of the Netflix, CCTV series.

More recently, Ted has just finished shooting future Feature Film: The Longest Shot in which he plays a 20's gangster. In 2017 Ted took the role of Gunther Rall, a Nazi Luftwaffe pilot in National Geographic's Nazi Megastructures series. Fall 2018 he will appear on HBO...

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The film began development and research while I was on the MA Acting for Screen Course at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, and has grown into its current form since April 2014. The film is mostly in English but also has sections that naturally flow into mandarin. ​

The story is very close to me personally which, however it was something I just HAD to follow through with following my return to UK from a 10 year stint in China.